Making Christ Known and Loved / Gwneud i Crist Gael ei Adnabod a’i Garu
December 2025 Services and Events: There are several additions and changes to our usual service pattern this month, for Advent and Christmas (see below).
Pattern of Sunday Services:
9:30am Holy Eucharist at Coelbren
9:30am Holy Eucharist at Clydach
10:15am Holy Eucharist at Ystradgynlais
10:30am Holy Eucharist at Pontardawe
11:00am Holy Eucharist at Trebanos
3:00pm Evening Prayer 1st & 3rd Sundays, Holy Eucharist 2nd & 4th Sundays at Callwen
6:00pm Something Different @6 at Ystradgynlais
Pattern of Mid-Week Services:
Wednesdays:
10:30am Holy Eucharist at Ystradgynlais
10:30am Holy Eucharist at Clydach
8:00pm Compline Online from Coelbren via the Ministry Area Facebook page
Thursdays:
10:15am Morning Prayer at Abercrave Welfare Hall
Ministry Area Bible Study: This group continues to meet on Mondays at 7:00pm in Ystradgynlais Rectory, with the Letter of James being the current subject for reflection. The group will be moving onto another book of the Bible in the New Year.
Ministry Area Mothers’ Union: Cwm Tawe Ministry Area Mothers’ Union meets on the second Monday of each month at 2:00pm, in St Cynog’s Church Hall, Ystradgynlais. The next meeting will take place on Monday 8th December.
Christmas Services
Christmas Eve: Several services will be held across the Ministry Area on 24th December.
Crib Service – 3:00pm, St Mary’s Clydach
Christingle – 3:00pm, St Peter’s Pontardawe
Crib Service – 4:00pm, St Cynog’s Ystradgynlais
1st Eucharist of Christmas: Also on 24th December, several 1st Eucharist of Christmas services will be held:
7:00pm, St Mary’s Clydach
8:30pm, Capel Coelbren
9:00pm, St Peter’s Pontardawe
11:00pm, St Cynog’s Ystradgynlais
Christmas Day: Several Holy Eucharist services will be held across the Ministry Area on 25th December.
9:30am, St John the Baptist Callwen
9:30am, Capel Coelbren
10:15am, St Cynog’s Ystradgynlais
10:00am, St Michael’s Trebanos
28th December: Two cluster services will be held on the final Sunday of the year, replacing the usual Sunday service pattern.
10:00am, St Michael’s Trebanos
10:15am, St Cynog’s Ystradgynlais
Church Events
Best Afternoon Tea in the Valley: St Peter’s Pontardawe will be hosting a Christmas Afternoon Tea on Saturday 6th December at 2:30pm. Tickets are £10 per person, and are available from Pontardawe Heritage Centre every Thursday or are available in church from Rhian, Janice, or Chris.
Christmas Tree Festival: St Cynog’s Ystradgynlais will be holding their annual Christmas Tree Festival on Friday 12th and Saturday 13th December, from 10:00am to 4:00pm. The theme this year is Christmas Carols.
Capel Coelbren Carol Concert: Capel Coelbren will be holding their Annual Carol Concert on Friday 12th December at 7:00pm. Join Ystradgynlais Public Band and Tawelele (ukelele band) in Coelbren Welfare Hall for an evening of Christmas carols and music. Free entry. Raffle, with refreshments to follow, and the bar will be open. Plenty of parking!
Concert with the Dulais Valley Divas: Capel Coelbren will be hosting the Dulais Valley Divas for a concert on Sunday 14th December, at 6:00pm. Free entry, with refreshments to follow. I look forward to welcoming you to our two annual Christmas concerts. For more information please call me – contact details at the end of the newsletter. God bless, Fr Jon.
Carols by Candlelight: St Peter’s Pontardawe will be hosting Carols by Candlelight on Tuesday 16th December at 6:30pm, featuring Gwaun Cae Gurwen Brass Band. All are welcome.
Ministry Area Carol Service: All are invited to our joint Carol Service on Sunday 21st December at 3:00pm in St John the Baptist, Callwen. Please note that a previous version of this newsletter included the incorrect time for this service.
Community Carol Service: St Cynog’s Ystradgynlais will be holding a Community Carol Service on Sunday 21st December at 7:15pm. A number of local groups and schools will be performing, including Cariad y Cwm Ladies Choir, Côr Dathlu Cwmtawe, and Ystradgynlais Public Band. Tickets are available for £7.
Star Trail: The town of Ystradgynlais will be holding a Star Trail this year. Please pick up your quiz sheet from St Cynog’s before you venture around town! Bring your completed sheet to the Crib Service on Christmas Eve to claim a small prize.
Community Events
Singalong: Pontardawe Heritage Centre is holding their next Singalong on Wednesday 3rd December at 10:30am. Entry is £3 per head including refreshments, with music from the 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s. This event is held on the first Wednesday of each month, with the next being held on Wednesday 7th January.
Pop-Up Coffee Shop: Pontardawe Heritage Centre holds their pop-up coffee shop every Thursday from 10:00am. Tea, coffee, cake, and a chat will all feature! The last pop-up of the year is on Thursday 18th December, starting again on Thursday 8th January.
Church Notices
Farewells: As many of you reading this will know by now, the Reverend Sarah Harris has been appointed Associate Priest in the Bro Lliedi Ministry Area in the Diocese of St David’s. We wish Sarah and Jeremy well as they prepare to move and remember them in our prayers. Sarah begins her new work in mid-January and therefore her last Sunday amongst us will be on Sunday January 4th. With this in mind, there will be a Ministry Area Eucharist in St Cynog’s Ystradgynlais at 10.00 am on January 4th at St Cynog’s so that we can say our farewells to her and Jeremy.
Pattern of Worship on Sunday Mornings: Please note that our current pattern of worship on a Sunday morning in our Ministry Area will become unsustainable from January onwards due to the number of concurrent services on a Sunday morning. The current pattern will need to change in some ways. This will be considered at the next Ministry Area Council meeting at the beginning of December, and a final decision made in mid-January. Whatever new pattern we adopt, it must be sustainable in the long term, work well given the various practicalities which may be involved in any proposed new scheme, and be to the benefit of the whole Ministry Area. If you have ideas about a new pattern, then please do mention them to the members of the Ministry Area Council, but in so doing, please put them to the test of sustainability, practicality and benefit to all.
Ministry Area Treasurer: We are currently looking for a Ministry Area Treasurer. This role involves managing the Ministry Area bank account and working with our church treasurers to prepare Annual Financial Returns for submission to the Diocese of Swansea & Brecon each year. This person does not need to be a churchgoer. Free online training for the role is available. If you or anyone you know is interested in this position, please contact Bethan Hewitt (contact details below) for more details.
Safeguarding: Safeguarding Training courses are available to book onto, both in-person and online courses are available. Details can be found on the Ministry Area website (Church Policies > Safeguarding). If you are unsure which Safeguarding Training you are required to undertake as part of your role, please contact Bethan Hewitt. The Church in Wales is committed to safeguarding as an integral part of its life, mission, and ministry, and will promote the wellbeing of children and adults at risk. Therefore, if you are a volunteer for any church within our Ministry Area, or the Ministry Area itself, the CinW requires you to undertake Safeguarding Training.
Church in Wales Lent Course 2026: The Church in Wales is producing a Lent Course for 2026, where in the course, the material visits each of the six Welsh Anglican Cathedrals. It is called “From Pancakes to Palm Crosses”. This is a course designed to be completed in study groups, with discussion questions and videos provided, but it can also be completed alone. Each video has a choice of English and Welsh subtitles, and all written materials are bilingual. Each video is ten minutes long, and provides discussion questions for a study group session that will last a recommended time of one hour. This course was made in collaboration with the Cathedral Deans, and written by the Very Revd Ian Black, Dean of Newport Cathedral. Further details are being made available in early January, so there’ll be more information about it in the weeks ahead. The course will certainly be used by Cytun Clydach and may very well be used somewhere else in the Ministry Area, so do bear it in mind as Lent approaches.
What’s Ahead
Ministry Area Eucharist: A joint Ministry Area Eucharist service will be held on Sunday 4th January at 10:00am in St Cynog’s Ystradgynlais.
Friends of Capel Coelbren: Capel Coelbren will be starting a new Friends of Capel Coelbren group, for anyone who is interested in helping to look after the church grounds. Their first working morning will be at the church on Saturday 24th January 2026, from 10:00am to 12:00pm.
Looking ahead: Our next newsletter will be our January edition. If you would like anything to be included, please contact Bethan Hewitt with the relevant details by 12:00pm on Thursday 18th December.
Ministry Area Contact Details
Ministry Area Leader & Priest in the Ministry Area:
The Rev’d. Canon Tim Hewitt
01792 946948
TimothyHewitt@cinw.org.uk
Priests in the Ministry Area:
The Rev’d. Gary Green
01792 862003
GaryGreen@cinw.org.uk
The Rev’d. Sarah Harris
01639 865662
SarahHarris@cinw.org.uk
Assistant Clergy:
The Rev’d. Jon Howard
07810 820593
JonHoward@cinw.org.uk
The Rev’d. Sue Northcott
01792 863814
SueNorthcott@cinw.org.uk
Ministry Area Administrator:
Bethan Hewitt
07398 647399
BethanHewitt@cinw.org.uk
General queries:
CwmtaweMAA@cinw.org.uk
Ministry Area website:
http://www.cwmtawechurches.org
Ministry Area Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/CwmTaweMinistryArea
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Cwmtawe Churches 